Kansas City Royals: Most surprising players from 2019 season

The Kansas City Royals’ 2019 season has come to a close. Who were the most pleasant surprises for the Royals during another 100 loss season?

Kansas City Royals fans expected guys like Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi to perform well, but who were some players who shocked all of us (in a good way) with their level of play in 2019? Let’s take a look.

TIM HILL

Things didn’t look great for Tim Hill at the beginning of the season, as he had a 9.00 ERA before being optioned to Triple-A Omaha. Hill returned for good in June and was able to turn things around, ending his season with an ERA of 3.63 and a WHIP of 1.10 in 39.2 innings pitched.

Hill turns 30 in February, so while he probably won’t be a part of the rebuild long-term, he was one of the few relievers fans felt confident in when he’d come trotting out of the bullpen. The Royals will need him to replicate this success in 2020.

JAKE NEWBERRY

Another Royals reliever who surprised was Jake Newberry, who ended the season with a 3.77 ERA and 1.45 WHIP through 31 innings pitched. Newberry turns 25 this November (he and I actually share a birthday, which is pretty cool) so he’s still young and could most definitely be a part of the Royals bullpen moving forward.

ALEX GORDON

Whether it’s his last season or not, Alex Gordon went out on much better terms than we all expected a few years ago. After inking the largest contract in Kansas City Royals history, Gordon did not live up to the bill for the first three years of that deal. He came through in 2019, however, with a slash line of .266/.345/.396 with 13 home runs and 76 RBI.

Gordon performed well in 2019, so if he does decide to return to the organization in 2020, fans would likely be happy to have him back in a Royals uniform.